DENNIS CLAYSON | Posted: Sunday, January 6, 2008 12:00 am
When all the presidential candidates descend on Iowa, I'm reminded of a passage from Chaucer's "Old Wives Tale" which explains why there are no more fairies. "For now the great charity and prayers of licensed beggars and other holy friars that overrun every land and every stream, as thick as specks of dust in the sun-beam; blessing halls, chambers, kitchens, bedrooms; barns, stables, dairies. This makes it that there are no fairies."
There are several warning signs that our "licensed beggars" and "holy friars" were being less than honest when searching for our vote. Here is a short list:
The Watch Your Wallet Maneuver: This is simply the old propaganda ploy of accusing your enemies of committing the crimes you have committed (or soon will), but with a slight twist.
It goes like this, "My opponent needs to be careful because if the slime ball (put in the name of the other party here) finds out that he has been abusing drugs for the last 20 years, those despicable (put in the name of the other party) will certainly make this known."
A slight modification is: "I refuse to go negative like my opponent."
This is done while releasing negative information about your leading opponent to the press while announcing that you are not going to release it.
The I Didn't Mean to Drop That Bomb Ploy: This is usually done in an interview with a sympathetic reporter. The reporter asks, "What about your opponent's religion?" The candidate replies, "Hey, I'm just an ordained minister and I don't know much about theology, and I certain don't know much about the religion of the opponent who my people have been studying intently for half a year, so I couldn't really say anything about his religion. But hey, don't those people worship rocks or something?"
I Love the Big Guy, But Others Who Know Him Better, Have Said: This is a typical media gambit. A candidate, or reporter, looks very sincere and talks about how wonderful an opponent is, and then in a sorrowful tone he dishes out the dirt, attributing it to unnamed, but well-informed, sources. And, of course, who is to say that these unnamed sources aren't correct?
There is nothing new in this. The Washington Post did this to Romney's father when he ran for president.
The Watch the Shell Instead of the Pea Trick; or Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus: This one is very simple. It works because it appeals to simple people, and certain politicians are willing to exploit ignorance.
Your friendly politician asks you what you want, and then promises to give it to you - at someone else's expense. If the politician thinks you are really stupid, he or she will tell you that no one has to pay for it.
That there may not be enough money on the planet to buy what you want is irrelevant because of the next ploy.
The Candidate as Hero Positioning: The candidate poses on the bow of the ship in a heroic stance, swearing to protect you from all evil. A very nasty variant of this is: The Candidate as Savior.
Since the candidate (or her predecessors) promised you all sorts of things in the past, but nothing happened, there must be a reason. Well, yes there is! You see, there are some very nasty people out there and they are going to destroy you unless the candidate steps in and saves you. In between raising the dead and healing the sick, your candidate will fight for you!
Others may have thought you paranoid, but yes, there are "two nations" and our hero will do what? Destroy one? The rich are not "paying their fair share." If a voter takes the time to notice, she will note that all national level politicians actually belong to the "other nation."
The hero politician will "fight" for you. This is a sure sign that you are dealing with a demagogue. Since all candidates will say this, select the one who uses it the least. Politicians who employ this gambit are either being deceptive, or ignorant. There is really not much in between. The more politicians says they will "fight" for you, the less they respect you.
Are any of the presidential candidates free from these dishonest ploys?
No. Are there any who use them all? Yes there are, and an honest person should not vote for them.